Carey's Pico Build!

[carey]

So the bulb just goes into a light fixture right off? It's a regular bulb? I saw some led bulbs at home depot, they won't due will they?

The bulb weighs a lb if I'm not mistaken so I just need something that can hold it....can you post up a picture of yours for me pls? Looking for ideas....

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

Here yah go

These are older pictures obviously but I now have a black tie not a green on so it's not noticable haha and the light itself cost like $20 from RONA. I currently have the light shade off but have been meaning to put it back on for awhile here haha.


I don't know about the LED's from home depot, you should go find out more info on them and then ask here.

 

[Bige]

The one at homedepot dont have blues. Thats about the only difference.

 

[carey]

Yeah you did great with that lamp working out perfect! With mine on the counter top I may have a harder time. What about a student desklight? Or maybe I can clip something to the window frame above it?

Thanks Kelsey!

This one has the blue and whites right? Do you know how many lumens it is cause that's how home depot has theirs.

ALSO, LOL, would the par 38 be too much for me or is the 30 better? I'd like the option of the nem, not sure I'm gonna go with it, but still wanna be able to.

 

[carey]

The one at homedepot dont have blues. Thats about the only difference.

I need the blues though don't I for corals and a possible nem? Any way to add a blue LED as well?

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

This is what evilc66 says about the home depo bulbs, this is the guy that sells the par 38 ones off of nanotuners/customs.

"The lamps that are showing up in the stores are getting better, but they still lack a lot of quality, output, and longevity. Like it was mentioned earlier in this thread, the life expectancy of these lamps is a lot lower than they should be. LED temperature are run to the edge, and life suffers as a result. The consumer market doesn't care to the same degree that the industrial and commercial market, where we source our lamps from. Barring any manufacturer defect, we are comfortable claiming 50,000 hour usable life on our lamps.

For those looking to play with some of the cheaper versions, I suggest getting them on ebay, not Home Depot. You can get similar performance for quite a bit less. There is also a greater chance of being able to modify it by looking for Cree based lamps. Edison and Nichia versions make it much harder to source LEDs. The Philips and GE lamps being sold right now don't have LEDs that you will be able to source easily. "

Here is the thread I found it in
LED PAR 30 and PAR 38... at Home Depot! - Page 2 - Captive Reefs

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

Here is another thread talking about lumens and PAR
Lumens and PAR

If you have any other questions I think it's best to e-mail the guy from nanotuners/customs. There is only one guy that tends to the e-mails and he was very good at replying within a day or so.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

Oh also carey I found a lot of desk lamps that would have worked perfectly but my tank was too tall, your tank is shorter though and it would be easy to find one that worked I'm sure.

 

[carey]

Thanks for all the in depth help! I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if I'm going to go in that direction yet, seems like alot of $$ but I'm starting to get used to it. LOL

I'll go out and look for fixtures first and see what I can find.

 

[jenatron]

My two cents:
I would choose a par30 rather than a par38 for this small of a tank, the par38 might be a bit overwhelming.
My suggestion is BoostLED. It's a good reputable brand, good color choices, with a decently priced fixture made to hold the weight.
90% of desk lamp fixtures can't hold the weight, which is why I really recommend the boost set.
I would definitely not get a cheap LED fixture, 90% of the time if you go cheap with LEDs, you're burning money.
FWIW, when I have a pico that will be the fixture I use.

 

[carey]

My two cents:
I would choose a par30 rather than a par38 for this small of a tank, the par38 might be a bit overwhelming.
My suggestion is BoostLED. It's a good reputable brand, good color choices, with a decently priced fixture made to hold the weight.
90% of desk lamp fixtures can't hold the weight, which is why I really recommend the boost set.
I would definitely not get a cheap LED fixture, 90% of the time if you go cheap with LEDs, you're burning money.
FWIW, when I have a pico that will be the fixture I use.

That's perfect!! And it's only a tad more than just the bare bulb!
Thanks soo much!

 

[carey]

They are backordered for 2-3 weeks! lol

Which combination of colors should I get? I prefer a bluer tank but I'm not sure...they have "neutral" bulbs? I don't understand the differences.

Can someone help? If worse comes to worst I can also order the clip light from them, that would hold a bulb like Kelsey's wouldn't it? Or any other LED bulb I could find?

Thanks guys! keep the advice coming

 

[jenatron]

They can't gurantee the par38, because they don't make one therefore don't want to take the time to test the extra weight.
I was personally torn between 3 RB 2 CW or 2 RB 3 CW, both nice blue-hued combo's.

 

[carey]

I bookmarked the page so maybe I'll just wait til they are back in stock. I don't need the par38 anyways in a 4g tank I wouldn't think. The only thing high light could possibly be a mini maxi one day. And thats a maybe.

Thanks jenatron!

 

[carey]

So I got my barnacles today from reefcleaners and it's perfect!

So I'm getting close to buying the livestock and here is what I have so far:

1 warpaint clown goby
1 barnacle blenny
3 sexy shrimp
1 Pom Pom Crab

My question would be what else can I put in? ANy other shrimp like a peppermint or maybe some other? And as far as snails and hermits, I'd like I guess 2 hermits and snails, well, I have no idea. lol

What do you guys think? This is like a callaborative tank. I was gonna get a porcelain crab but not sure, do they need a nem?

new picture will be up soon!

thanks for the help everyone!

 

[jenatron]

I'm just gonna give you my honest opinion: I think clown goby, sexy shrimp, and pom pom crab is stocked. I guess if you're set on the blenny then my opinion doesn't make a difference, but I certainly wouldn't add more past that.
People have the tendency to really overestimate and overstock picos. With rock and sand it probably only holds 3ish gallons. Your tank is around the size where people start ruling out fish at all for stocking, none-the-less two, regardless of activity/behavior.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

I don't think I would get any hermits if I were you, in a tank that size they would probably bother the pom pom and shrimp. The porcelain crabs do not need an anemone. I would get like two pom poms and two porcelains or something.

 

[carey]

That's what i want, honest opinions. I kinda do have my heart set on the barnacle blenny, I figured size wise I could get away with it since he is just gonna chill in the barnacle I got. LOL

Bioload is another story though I guess. if I do water changes frequently think i can pull it off? I can drop the idea of snails and hermits too and even the peppermint shrimp.

 

[Flake]

Just because he stays in the barnacle doesn't mean he's happy in 3g of water.

Honestly, I wouldn't put a fish in that tank.

 

[carey]

Ok, point well taken.

Since I really want the blenny I think perhaps I'll put it in the cube. There seems to be plenty of room int there now, hopefully he isn't too small.

So now I sit with 1 fish, the goby. 3 sexy shrimp and a pom pom.

Does that sound better?